


Connected Through Music

by teddiehtet



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, High School, KIND OF Clannad/Full Moon AU-ish, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-24 23:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16185092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teddiehtet/pseuds/teddiehtet
Summary: After an...interesting first meeting with second year Sougo, first year Tamaki considered joining the high school’s music club. He soon became part of a fun, loving found family, which brought color to Tamaki’s once boring world of gray. Although he  cherished everyone in the club, he had developed a different bond with Sougo. The evenings spent on the rooftop together would remain as precious moments in both of their hearts. Although their affection grew, they were both walking down a road that would only hurt all the more when neither Tamaki nor Sougo knew when Sougo’s life would end.





	Connected Through Music

Being a completely new student with no sense of direction, Tamaki was already lost. The entrance ceremony was over, and all he wanted to do was go back home. He scanned the area around him. He could hear the light chatter of some students who stayed back in their classroom, making new friends and hanging out with old ones. Tamaki considered popping into one of the classes to ask for directions, but then decided against it. Sighing, he prepared to walk around again, when the faint melody of a piano caught his attention. It calmed him down, almost making him forget about his frustration. Curious, he followed it back to the source. The melody led him to a door that was slightly ajar. As he brought his face closer to the opening, he slid open the door slightly further.

_“I will always be quietly thinking of you, no matter what. Even when that heart is locked away.”_

Accompanying the tune now was a soft, male voice that drew Tamaki in like a moth to a flame. Enraptured by the pure love for singing the voice conveyed, Tamaki finally laid his eyes on its source. With white hair and a pair of vibrant violet colored eyes, along with a soft smile decorating his lips, the young man at the piano looked ethereal.

Tamaki continued listening, lulled into the peaceful atmosphere. Suddenly, the moment was shattered when the abrupt bang of piano keys and a series of harsh, raspy coughs rang through the room.

Without hesitation, Tamaki burst in. “Are you okay?! Should I call someone?”

Through his coughs, the older student gasped, “N-No, I’ll be okay. It’ll pass.” Still seated on the piano chair, he hunched over the piano as his hacking coughs echoed in the room.

Tamaki lightly rubbed the other student’s back in an attempt to soothe the pain. After a few seconds, the coughing subsided. “How are you feeling?” Tamaki asked.

The other boy sighed. “I want to say I’m feeling better, but honestly I feel like I coughed up a lung. Thank you for asking, though.” He took a longer look at Tamaki. “You must be a new student.”

“Yeah,” Tamaki confirmed. “I’m Tamaki Yotsuba, from class 1B.”

“Sougo Osaka. I’m a second year. It’s nice to meet you,” Sougo introduced. “I’m sorry if I’m troubling you.”

“You’re not troubling me at all, but are you really okay?” Tamaki asked again. “You should go to a hospital--”

“No, I’ll be fine” Sougo interrupted. “This is nothing new.”

Tamaki narrowed his eyes, clearly not skeptical. “Sou-chan, that cough is the opposite of fine.”

“Sou-chan?” Sougo echoed, slightly surprised at the sudden nickname. “Yotsuba-san, there’s no need to worry so much. This **is** normal...for me.”

Tamaki still didn’t back down. “You were singing before. Is there something wrong with your throat?”

Sougo flinched. Tamaki was spot on.

“I know we just met, but I can’t just leave you like this,” Tamaki insisted. He put his hands on Sougo’s shoulders and crouched down to Sougo’s eye level. Tamaki couldn’t help but notice how his hands enveloped Sougo’s small shoulders; the sharp gasp Sougo uttered as well as the way his eyes widened ever so slightly when Tamaki came face to face with him.

“If you want, I’ll go with you to a clinic or a hospital. It’d be really bad if you lost your voice.”

Sougo blinked once. Then, his shoulders slowly sagged and his eyes cast downwards. “There’s no point…”

“If you’re still refusing, I’m piggybacking you there.”

“Okay, no need for that,” Sougo pleaded. “I’ll...go see my doctor later.”

“Pinky promise?” Tamaki stuck out his right pinky.

Sougo couldn’t help but let out an endearing chuckle. He wrapped his pinky around Tamaki’s and locked them.

“Pinky promise.”

* * *

The next day, Tamaki learned Sougo was part of the music club that founded by Tsumugi Takanashi, a current second year student, and the principal’s daughter, while she was in her first year. Apart from them, there were four others. This year, Iori, Tamaki’s close friend, had told him that he would support his older brother and join as well. Meeting Sougo made Tamaki consider music as a hobby, and after using the night to mull it over, he too decided to join.

The members of the music club accepted both him and Iori as part of their little family very quickly. For this year, Tsumugi even gave the club a special name: “Idolish7”

“Why seven?” Mitsuki had asked. “There’s eight of us.”

“The seven of you are the ones who really perform,” Tsumugi said. “I founded the club, but I think I’m more like a manager!”

“Maybe we’ll start calling you ‘manager’ instead!” Riku teased, with a laugh.

The group continued their light conversation. Tamaki laughed heartily as he talked freely and joked around with the other members. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like he truly belonged.

* * *

“I...didn’t really have a great life at home,” Tamaki confessed. Hanging out with Sougo on the school’s rooftop had become a sort of ritual. When they don’t have club activities, the duo would go to the rooftop and spend the evening together. Out of all the members, Tamaki had forged the closest bond with Sougo in the shortest amount of time. “Meeting you and the others was probably the best thing that’s happened to me this year. If it wasn’t for Idolish7, I don’t think I’d enjoy high school as much as I do now. I’m really glad I met you that day, Sou-chan.”

Sougo laughed lightly. “Even if you didn’t meet me, I’m sure you still would’ve joined Idolish7.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Tamaki crossed his legs and leaned back on the railing. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but when I heard you playing, I thought the song itself sounded pretty, but then you sang. Your voice was super calming, and hearing you was part of what made me consider music seriously. You were amazing, Sou-chan!”

Tamaki turned to Sougo with a big, earnest grin plastered across his face. Sougo had a bright pink flush painted across his cheeks, clearly not expecting the outward praise. Despite being flustered, a smile still slowly crept across Sougo’s lips. He buried his face in his hands in an attempt to hide his expression.

“I’m honored, Tamaki-kun,” Sougo replied. “I’m still not happy that your semi-first impression of me was my hacking cough.”

The corners of Tamaki’s lips tugged down slowly, his smile disappearing. He didn’t want to push the subject of Sougo’s condition too much since Sougo seemed reluctant to talk about it a few weeks before. The other older club members did tell Tamaki a bit about Sougo’s illness, and when Sougo felt more comfortable telling Tamaki as well, he did share some details, but now that he was reminded of it, he wanted to ask Sougo more about the tumor in his throat.

“Sou-chan,” Tamaki whispered, the mood getting tense all of a sudden.

“What is it, Tamaki-kun? Is there something wrong?”

“...Are you really not going to do anything about your throat?”

Sougo tensed. Hesitantly, he answered, “To be honest, I always thought that I would have passed earlier than this.”

Tamaki flinched.

Sougo continued, “Do you remember when I told you that I had a decision? I could get surgery to get the tumor out before it spreads even more, and I would survive; I could live longer, until I grow old.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Tamaki interrupted. “If you don’t do the surgery…”

“I’ll die much earlier,” Sougo finished, unfazed.

In comparison, Tamaki paled. “Aren’t you scared? You won’t be able to sing with us anymore...or hang out with me anymore…”

Sougo tore his eyes away from Tamaki’s intense gaze. “I hate this. I hate thinking about how I won’t be there for you all when you need me, and I hate knowing that one day, I won’t be here on this rooftop with you anymore.”

Tamaki’s heart stung. If Sougo died, there would be no one with him on the rooftop anymore. No one who would scold him whenever he did something insensitive. No one who would share lunch with him…

Tamaki whimpered, “If you disappear, my evenings will be so empty...”

Sougo brought his hand up and ran his fingers through Tamaki’s hair. “Even when I’m gone, you’ll always have Idolish7.”

Sougo was right. Idolish7 had basically become one big family, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they would all be willing to lay their lives down for each other. However, the bond between him and Sougo was different. Both Tamaki and Sougo knew that.

“You’ve really made your final decision?” Tamaki quietly asked.

Sougo nodded as he brought hand back down. “I actually decided on declining the surgery a while ago, Tamaki-kun.” Sougo then brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “My doctor strongly advised that I get surgery, but there will be repercussions.The tumor will be removed, but it’ll be at the cost of my voice.”

Tamaki almost dropped the pudding cup he was holding. Sougo never being able to sing again? Tamaki just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

“I just...couldn’t go through with it,” Sougo continued. “When I think about life where I physically can’t sing, it’s...a bleak future, Tamaki-kun. I can’t give up music. It’s too important to me. It was the one thing that helped me through my darkest times, and I can’t even imagine not being able to sing alongside you guys.”

“But Sou-chan...if the tumor keeps growing…”

“...Well then, that’s that,” Sougo finished. “I decided that I would rather live with this tumor than lose my voice.” He buried his head into his folded arms.

Impulsively, Tamaki leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Sougo. Sougo probably thought Tamaki wouldn’t notice, but the younger boy heard Sougo’s voice crack slightly. He knew that Sougo was always pretending to be strong and rarely showed his weaknesses, just to prevent others from worrying, but Sougo isn’t a robot. He’s only human too, and humans will reach a point where they collapse from the weight of their emotions.

Tamaki heard a soft sob break out from Sougo’s lips. He couldn’t see Sougo’s face, but he could hear his sniffles and feel his shoulders shaking.

“Sou-chan,” Tamaki soothingly said. “I’m really glad to hear that it was you who made the decision, and not someone else. Declining surgery so that you can continue singing is very... you. I’ve seen how happy you are making music with us, and I could never imagine you not being with us.”

Sougo sniffed. “I’m sorry, I’m showing you such a pathetic side of me right now…”

With one of his hands cupping Sougo’s nape, Tamaki carefully brought Sougo’s head closer and tucked it underneath his chin. The younger boy was hoping that Sougo would feel more comfortable this way, since Tamaki wouldn’t see him cry. He soothingly ran his hand down Sougo’s back and let him freely cry out his feelings.

“Thank you, Tamaki-kun.”

Tamaki pulled away and wiped Sougo’s tears with the sleeve of his shirt, earning him a slight jump of surprise from Sougo. “I’ll always be here for you, Sou-chan. Not just me, but everyone too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sougo said with an endearing smile. “You’re very sweet, Tamaki-kun. I’m very glad I met you.”

Though he had just cried, and his eyes were slightly red and puffy, Sougo’s smile was beautiful enough to take Tamaki’s breath away. His breath hitched when Sougo took the initiative to give him a tight hug. Tamaki had never seen Sougo initiate physical contact before, so imagine his surprise when not only did Sougo start the hug, but also placed a quick kiss on Tamaki’s forehead.

Before Tamaki could react, Sougo had pulled away and stood up. With pink tinted cheeks and a flustered grin, Sougo spoke, “Thank you for staying with me this evening. I always enjoy spending time with you.”

Tamaki, with his mouth open, could only nod. When his brain cells decided to start working again, he quickly responded, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sou-chan.”

Sougo nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

Sougo left, leaving Tamaki with his thoughts. Since it was Sougo’s decision, he already decided that he would respect it. He would never tell Sougo to retract his decision. If anyone’s suffering the most, it’s Sougo. Of course, everyone would be devastated if anything happened to Sougo, but in the end, it’s Sougo who has to go through each day not knowing which day is going to be his last.

Tamaki clenched his fists. Just when he believed that he had found someone precious, fate had to burst in and threaten to take that person away. Hadn’t Tamaki had enough people taken away from him? First his mom passed, and then his dad left. Would fate be cruel enough to take Sougo away from him too?

_“You'll always have Idolish7.”_

But if Sougo’s gone, “Idolish7” wouldn’t really be Idolish7 anymore. Tamaki couldn’t stop the strained, frustrated whine that tore from his lips, nor could he stop the tears rolling down his cheeks. With a clenched fist, he slammed his forearm against the railing behind him.

“Sou-chan…Don’t leave.”

The sigh of the autumn wind accompanied his plea.

**Author's Note:**

> So I got an idea to write a TamaSou fic with semi-Clannad/Full Moon vibes, with Tamaki finding a found family and Sougo having Full Moon’s illness, and this happened ;;  
> Sorry if the fic seems a little short and awkward ;; I wrote it kinda fast and this was actually my first idea for the i7 flash bang, but then I decided to go with another fic idea ^^;; Maayyybe I'll think of a sequel for this? (I really can't guarantee but if time permits and if I'm not busy thinking of a sequel for my RyuuSou fic, and not studying, and not writing this other TamaSou fic I'm working on, I may try :'D )  
> Also, did you guys notice that the line Sougo sings is the first line of the chorus of ‘Sakura Message’? :D  
> I hope you enjoyed reading!  
> Please feel free to follow/scream about TamaSou with me at my twitter, [@bunnymikaaa!](https://twitter.com/bunnymikaaa)


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